Into farm country

I am having a great dilemma trying to figure out how to post about our big family vacation, because (1) I have about a thousand pictures, (2) those pictures are probably mostly only cool to me, but (3) this is most likely the only record I will make of this trip so I feel like I cannot leave anything out.  And maybe other people (ie. my mom or sister) may actually be interested in every detail of our trip and who knows, maybe someone else will one day want to trek out to the Oregon coast via Washington and will say "Hey, what was it that you guys did?  Where did you stop?  What was the best things?   Etc, etc."  So I'm open for suggestions.  For now, I'll start from the beginning and you'll just get what you get.  If you want to see more pictures, I'm sure I will eventually post them on Facebook (not all 800, don't worry).

Our first stop after a seven hour drive (which I thought was going to be five hours) was in Eastern Oregon/Idaho to visit Russ' family.  We stayed with one of Russ' cousins and had a great time playing and visiting.  We also had the pleasure of attending the Malhuer County Fair, which unlike where we live, was actually about the animals.  Russ remembered going there as a kid (he grew up on a ranch there) and had fun reminiscing, and believe it or not, we actually ran into someone that remembered him (or his brother).  Best part:  Corbin riding the mechanical bull.  Yee-haw!

Another reason for our stay out in farm country was to visit Russ' grandpa.  He still lives in Nyssa, which is slightly bigger than the neighboring town of Adrian, where Russ lived.  The Jensens have been in that area for several generations now, so it is fun to see all of the history and hear the stories.  The boys loved visiting with Grandpa Jensen and exploring his little farm.  Russ is a farm boy at heart, so he loved being there as well and showing his boys a life that is so foreign to them.

Around the Farm . . .

The boys' favorite part ?  Playing with Grandpa's dog. (And no, Russ, that doesn't mean we should get one.)

Up Next:  Skamania and the beautiful Columbia River Gorge . . .